Preseason I was telling anyone that would listen to draft [player]Nick Markakis[/player]. I had him ranked as the 35th best outfielder in standard points leagues. While 37 is well outside the top ten, or even twenty, in twelve team leagues that start three outfielders he becomes a borderline starter. Most leagues will start four outfielders, moving Markakis squarely into a starting role. For those trying to figure out how I came to that conclusion, here's the math. Twelve teams times four outfielders equals 48 outfielders, and the last I checked, 35 was less than 48. Even in ten team leagues with four OF spots Markakis lands a starting gig.
Monthly Archives: May 2016
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OPS Leaguers Unite! One Month Down, Five Long Months To Go
May 6, 2016 | OPS Leagues | 11 Commentsby: Phil B.
Hello OPSers! Hold up; we need a better name than that. That sounds like we like to add lots of Post Scripts to our letters, but it's a surprise or we work for UPS but there was a typo. Someone think of something better, I implore you.
Anyway, I hope all your teams are dominating; I’m lucky enough to be doing really well in my home league; the rest, eh, not so much. Still, I’m not deterred. I’m looking at some trades but I don’t really like to assess the standings until the end of May. Because by then we should have a month of good weather hitting (and pitching, though I don’t really talk about pitching here as there are better sources, like JB) and know if guys are who we thought they are(LINK). Man, that never, will ever, get old.
What is getting a little old to me? The Cubs and their zany road threads. Joe Maddon might be too loose. Every time I watch the Cubs they show them getting off the bus in their crazy threads (check them out!). It’s definitely hilarious but as a longtime cursed Cubs fan I worry. It’s like they are all rookies when I don’t think any of them are (correct me if I’m wrong, wait, don’t make me look bad, keep it to yourself).
I figure this week we’ll look at the some of the top OPS hitters by position and some slumping guys to acquire. Note: all stats through May 3rd. Let’s dive in!
DraftKings: Friar Struck(out)
May 6, 2016 | DraftKings, Fantasy Baseball DFS | 41 Commentsby: MattTruss
Contrary to what I previously believed, the San Diego chicken is not in fact the mascot for the Padres. That dubious honor goes to “The Swinging Friar”. What he’s swinging, we don’t really know, but we do know he’s swinging...and missing...a lot. In fact, there’s only one other team that is striking out more than the Padres. The numbers are darn near video game level. A really easy video game though, not like World Championship Baseball, that shizz was darn near impossible. Vince Velasquez went for 16, Clayton Kershaw went for 14 (and 9), Cueto went for 11, and Jon Gray got 11 Pads. Multiple other pitchers have K’d 9 Padres in a night as well. It’s ugly. So, tonight we’ve got Noah Syndergaard taking the mound, he of the 12.25 K/9 and 2.51 ERA. The scary thing is, he could be even better, his FIP is sitting at a tidy 1.39 and his xFIP is a wonderful 1.79. *Drool* How do I not own this guy in any leagues this year? Brutal. Things shouldn’t get any worse in Petco Park. I don’t need to blab about how amazing Syndergaard is, but I will. A stat I love to look at is SwStr%, or the % of strikes a batter swings at and misses. Noah’s 15.9% currently leads the league. He’s throwing strikes and guys still can’t touch it. Could be that 97.6 MPH average fastball. I also like a pitcher that can get a batter to chase a bad pitch. Even if they get ahold of it, it’s usually weak contact, so making a guy chase a pitch is a nice skill to have. Well, Syndergaard’s 36.6% O-swing %, or percentage of non-strikes swung at, is 2nd in the league behind only Zack Greinke. That would help explain why he has a soft contact % of 26%, good for 11th in the league. All of this is to say, he’s really, really good and the Padres are really, really bad. This is a no brainer top cash game option of the night, despite the lofty price tag ($12,900). Don’t overthink it and just watch those K’s pile up. Let’s see if we can make our bankrolls pile up with the rest of these picks:
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
Jose Altuve is on pace for 60 homers. He can't even reach the cereal in the morning! If an opposing manager were to ask to see Altuve's bat, they would crack it open to reveal gumballs because he's the leader of the lollipop guild. If the major leagues were to institute a Daffy Duck 'You Have To Be This Tall' sign before getting to the batter's box, Altuve would need his mother to escort him into the batter's box every time. That's assuming she's tall enough! If she's not, who does he get? His uncle? Erik Kratz? If might were height, Jose Altuve would be a giant. That much is true. I love that lil' bugger! I want a Teddy Ruxpin in the shape of Altuve to cuddle at night. Last night, he went 4-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs with his 9th homer, hitting .330. So, the question is, can he keep it up? Up is not a word I associate with Altuve, and, no, he can't keep it up. No one could keep up this pace. Of course, he's still a .315 hitter with an easy 110 runs, 35 steals and 70 RBIs, i.e., a top ten bat. So, keep it up? No, not without four phonebooks under him. Do enough to make you glad you didn't sell high? As a French dwarf would say, "Wee!" Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
The "five tool" player (having the abilities to hit for average and power, base-running skills/speed, throwing, and fielding) is one who possesses an incredibly rare set of skills. Branch Rickey, who first coined the term in his book The American Diamond, could only name two true "five tool" players at the time - Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. Essentially, it's a term that refers to elite, well-rounded athletes who can do anything and everything on the baseball field. Which players would qualify as true five toolers in today's game? Three names immediately come to mind - Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, and Manny Machado. Elite skills and production across the board. Andrew McCutchen is a strong candidate based on his track record, though his speed appears to be in decline. Jose Altuve, Mookie Betts, and Starling Marte might have a shortcoming or two, but they're in the mix as well.
2016 REL Dynasty League Update: Week 5
May 5, 2016 | Razzball Elite League | 12 Commentsby: JB Gilpin
Happy Cinco De Mayo! I certainly know I'll be drinking, as my rebuilding Brewers continue to have pitching numbers go down the drain like after a great relief following 5 margaritas. And I certainly know the co-owners of the Nats are drinking heavy today too! The Nationals are obliterating the NL league, accentuated by a 13-2 drubbing of the Royals in interleague play yesterday afternoon. On the AL side, it's still the Orange Birds' show as they've been the hunted all year long. Somebody break up this powerhouse on the I-95 corridor! Here's how week five went down in the 2016 REL League: 
Jacob deGrom reminds some of your classic surfer boy. He has a serious flow going on underneath that Mets' cap of his, and as some people say, you really should go with the flow when it comes to this guy. On an unrelated side note, if Jacob deGrom was a surfer for real and they had fantasy surfing, I wonder how the scoring would work? Would you get tons of points for avoiding getting eaten by a shark (or maybe you'd get more for getting eaten)? I guess that's a conversation for another day. The conversation for today should focus solely on getting Jacob deGrom and his flow into your lineup. deGrom is $2,100 more than the next best pitcher on this slate. However, a matchup in the pitchers' haven that is San Diego against the pitchers' haven that is the Padres' lineup is too good to resist. It is hard to imagine him going less than 7 innings and giving up more than 2 runs... The Padres are also third in the majors in hitter strikeouts entering Wednesday. And honestly, you might as well get bonus points for Jacob's hair, so even though you don't, you can find security in just picking the great hair.
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
Daniel Murphy is the hottest homophobe since Kirk Cameron got three offers in one week for three different Christian movies, "A Behind...Left Behind," "Groundhog's Day Is For Satanists, God Makes The Seasons," and "Make Me Dinner Woman, And No Leftovers." Daniel Murphy's hotter than Kim Davis looks to lesbians looking for a challenge. Daniel Murphy is hotter than Ted Nugent's nougat, which he has to heat to 214 degrees to get the sugar to melt. Yesterday, Murphy went 4-for-5, 4 runs, 3 RBIs and his 4th homer while hitting .398 on the year. I'm not saying we need to throw Ted Williams's head in the microwave to defrost, but we may want to leave it on the counter to slowly bring it to room temperature. Okay, Murphy's BABIP is absurdly high (.427), which means he's hitting about a hundred points too high, so his average will come down. He's also not hitting for a ton of power, so it's a good story right now for the MLB that their hottest hitter is a bigot -- The Ghost of Ty Cobb, "That sounds rad." -- but it'll end eventually. Anyway, here's what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
With the MLB draft right around the corner it's time to start looking at the players entering our prospect sphere and what they could bring to the table for our virtual dynasty teams. We'll start today with the first in a series of posts I'll be doing on 2016 draft prospects. We'll start with the 30,000 foot view and dial down the closer we get. So if you're a MLB draftnik this might be relatively rudimentary, but the vast majority of the fantasy baseball playing world barley knows beyond the top 100 or so prospects. So, in other words, you're special. You probably also rarely leave your house and are entirely unproductive at work between the months of February and September. Seriously I'm a model employee for 4 months a year, and the rest I do work between baseball stimulation of one kind or another. So today we dive into ten prospects that should have your attention.
It's barely May and we have already seen several anticipated rookie pitchers make their MLB debuts. If memory serves me correctly, it was actually [player]Robert Stephenson[/player] who got the first call back on April 7th. After an unimpressive first outing in which he got the win, he was optioned back to Triple A. Yep, his outing was so mediocre that he was sent to fix flat tires in the greater Cincinnati area. Ok, so maybe that's not exactly what happened. Two weeks later, however, Stephenson was recalled for another spot start. This performance was much more impressive. He got another win and was again sent back down.
The first month is in the books. Whew. And what a month it was. If I had the voice of Morgan Freeman, I'd be happy to record a summary of the fantasy baseball world in April. But, alas, I do not. Seriously, Freeman can make anything sound good. The thing I will miss the most is the daily fluctuations in roto league standings. Watching teams move up or down 10-20 points was exhilirating. It's on the level of betting on greyhounds in Vegas. When will FanDuel get in on the action? Geez, I'm a freaking degenerate. By the way, nothing beats greyhound racing. Anyways, the point I wanted to make is that those huge gyrations should start mitigating. This is the time when certain stats start stabilizing. We must all pay homage to Russell Carleton, the Pizza Cutter, for his extensive research on stat stabilization. Click here for the stats. For perspective, the leader in plate appearances is Jean Segura with 116 and the leader in batters faced is Zack Greinke with 166. We should have a clearer picture of our teams and players now.
In this weekly column, I will highlight some players that have performed well over the past week. If I like them, Obama will make it rain. If I don't, they get a whammy. If you are not familiar with whammies, please go and watch old episodes of the game show, Press Your Luck. The hope is that I can help you navigate the treacherous waters of fantasy baseball and have Obama make it rain for you at the end of the season. By the way, tips are not only encouraged but highly recommended. Not like those DFS guys that sell you lineups but don't cash. I'm all about meritocracy. Don't get paid unless you get paid. If you don't win, I'd blame some other guy. 
DraftKings: Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, Hello Rubby Wednesday
May 4, 2016 | DraftKings | 17 Commentsby: Sky
Hop in the way back when machine with me, would you? This machine could take us anywhere in time. We might see dinosaurs, the signing of the Declaration Of Independence, the toppling of the Berlin Wall...nah, sounds boring, let's go back to 2015 when I wrote about Rubby de la Rosa instead! I'm merely pointing you to my Rubby de la Rosa Fantasy because I want you to realize I might be biased even though I'll promise you I'm not biased. Editor's note: he's biased. Hey wait, I'm my own editor, what is going on!?!?! I'm also pointing you to said article because it had perhaps the most eloquent handy joke you'll ever read on the internet. No one does crass with class quite like Razzball! But really, I'm telling you the talent is there and we saw it in his last start against the Cardinals where he shut out the redbirds over 7, K'ing 10 while only walking 2. It would be silly to expect those exact same results, but we might be seeing a breakout I've been waiting on for a bit. Now not to damper my own post, but I fully note that Rubby's problems have been versus lefty bats and tonight's matchup will more than likely face at least four southies which could be daunting. Tack on that Jose Fernandez will be chalkier than pepto bismol, you're heading against the grain so for me this almost has to be a tourney-only call unless you're taking both pitchers from this game to protect yourself from the dangers of the world outside the Miami dome. Fair enough if you do, but I think we have some other ways to go than that so let's move on. Here's my Han shot first hot taeks for this Wednesday DK slate...
New to DraftKings? Scared of feeling like a small fish in a big pond? Well try out this 10 teamer of Razzball writers and friends to wet your DK whistle. Just remember to sign up through us before you do. It’s how we know you care! If you still feel helpless and lonely, be sure to subscribe to the DFSBot for your daily baseball plays.
